July 15-22

Having your Dad be in charge of sorting a container (...a shipping container!) of donated books has some great advantages! Musty smell aside, Max has scored some very nice books. Monkeys, rockets a huge Richard Scarry & even one of wood projects for boys. He told me that one needed to be put somewhere safe. "Me & Dad will need this soon. " My personal favorite? A 1970 pattern book for sewing kids clothes. :) Shortie smock, anyone? With knee socks?
Pepper the puppy needs a, shall we say, time out space? He is always looking for a friend & many of our Ghanaian friends won't come in the gate til he is restrained. Sorry, friend, but the leader of the Pastors Association cannot conduct his meetings on the sidewalk!


Jon & Rory are working in a misty rain. Jon is excited to be using re-purposed bamboo (not pictured) from the school building project for some of the pen. Next on the list is a fort for the boys. These boys, like so many, in the desire to conqueror something end up climbing the window bars. A fort with a ladder is just what they need. Sunday took us again down the highway, past Accra & into Tema. This coastal children's school is a delight to visit once a month. The little girls love the swings & so does Adrian!

Comm-Ci Beach Resort gives us a place to eat a packed lunch, buy cold drinks & hot spicy sausages. Audrey & I love picking up shells & rocks. The things we find are really different than the other side of the Atlantic. Shells are scarce, rocks aplenty, & a large dose of trash thrown in. We were thankful for this clear spot for the children to play.

Not bad for a Monday morning snack! I'm a late-coming believer in banana bread. This humble recipe trades glamour for practical & is almost always gone the same day. I shared a bit with Hannah, who sells me fruit, & she told me that I could give her some next time she comes. :) Their polite way of saying" I really do like it & please make me more." :) For the cheerful lady who brings me a headpan full of pineapple, mango & banana every Monday & Thursday, I'll try to oblige.

Oh! Obruni, what are you wanting? Pastor Jon is awaiting Pastor Gary's ride. They were going to a conference for staff of Bible Schools. The tro-tro in the picture was offering Jon a ride. Beside me, the children & Adrian were shouting at Jon & making quite a scene. In a quiet moment on the busy 4 lane highway (the Accra-Nsawam highway, right at our street), Jon shouted "obruni!" at us. To which my 5 y/o white-ish brown son hollered back, "Where, Dad, where?!"

Our week was made more enjoyable by a small visitor! Elliot Groff stayed for two nights while his parents enjoyed time off in town. I heard all about nachos, a grill, & plenty of cable channels to surf. Elliot fit right in, zooming around on the bikes & playing, of course, tractors. Above shows us outside our front gate finishing juice boxes. A store at the end of our street sells them for GHp 70. They were worth it! We continued on for a walk. Four white children attract plenty of attention. So did the scrape on Elle's knee. :)

Traffic, Jon would tell you, is his least liked thing here. It varies so much that we have, to date, been 90 minutes early for our appointment, missed it completely stuck bumper to bumper, & once, made it right on time. Jungle Jams in the cd player & snacks keep the little ones in good spirits while Jon tries to keep his temper in check.

This day was smooth & we are so thankful! Arriving early for the appointment, we stopped at a bike seller. We found this little beauty for less than we paid for the smaller bikes. The rack & training wheels sealed the deal! Max was ever so proud. Now he has set upon the task of riding his "wiggly" bike. The dental work went very well. I'm happy to say Dr. Jihad seems to have, with patience & good humor, turned Max's dentophobia into confidence. When Max feels shy & won't answer his questions, Dr. Jihad teases him that he must speak French, that is why he cannot answer. Max keeps asking me why that Dr. thinks he speaks French. :) I stay inside with Max while the rest enjoy the shade trees in the yard. The sterile white-ness of the rooms & the cold air conditioning seem a familiar medical presence to me. The tile is so shiny clean, the assistants work in their socks & the dentist in white clogs that have clearly never been worn outside the building.

We celebrated Audrey's birthday a day early. She got to fly home to Indiana for a seven week visit on her birthday!! They were all so excited to go. While we will miss our fabulous neighbors, we are thankful they can have this time of rest. Audrey & Ron have become mentors, friends, & co-conspirators. We have cried together & , much more often, chosen to laugh until we cry. We send mighty blessings on them as they settle in to Indiana for a time.

We baked chocolate bread for snack as we played with our Bontrager pals one more time before they boarded a plane Friday night.

Rory is almost always at my elbow when I'm working at the sink. He is rather good at our sink rules. :0) No licking spoons & redipping, stirring ingredients means they should not be sloshing onto the floor, No licking out of the sugar container & NO fair eating all the chocolate chips before we put them in the bread. They were sent from Pennsylvania!

A side note for the Grandma's: We end up saying that a lot. Be careful, use only a little: it came the whole way from Pennsylvania!! Rory said to me the other week, " Mom, I know where God lives. In Pennsylvania!"

Though the weather is grey these days, we are enjoying the coolness. It rains often. The children claim to be cold at times & love their fleece blankets. I have actually worn a long sleeve shirt to start the day twice so far. But it is no where near cold, just cooler! I think our internal thermometers have been adjusted. :)

As we battle mold on clothes & shoes, damp laundry & feeling a little "grey" ourselves, we know dry season is just around the corner when we'll be wishin' for a few clouds.

Love to all of you!